Jiang Lijin stared at the door, a thought popping into her head: It couldn't be Xiao Bai again this time, right?
Knock, knock, knock.
Three knocks, neither too heavy nor too light.
"The door isn't locked, please come in." For some reason, she felt very calm this time.
The door was pushed open, and as expected, Chiron stood outside. He was wearing a dark gray outfit today, still impeccably dressed and elegant, and ridiculously handsome to boot!
"Are you settling in okay?" he asked calmly, his tone flat.
Jiang Lijin nodded. After all, the man before her was her rent-free landlord, so she put on a bright smile. "It's great. The bed is very comfortable, and the bathroom is super high-tech. Also, your robot, Xiao Bai, is quite interesting. If I ever get my own place, I want to get a robot like that too! It saves trouble, and I wouldn't even have to pay it a salary."
"You won't be able to buy one," Chiron's lips curled up slightly. "It's an experimental prototype from the Academy of Sciences."
Jiang Lijin just let out an "Oh," not feeling too disappointed. If she couldn't buy it, so be it. Anyway, she was living here now, and she'd mooch off it for as long as she could.
The two of them stood there in silence for a couple of seconds.
Chiron spoke first, "You received the email from the Master Brain, right?"
Jiang Lijin paused, surprised. "How did you know?"
Chiron rested his chin on his hand, speaking in a serious tone, "It seems your research wasn't thorough enough. Didn't you know I also hold a position at the Academy of Sciences?"
Jiang Lijin fell silent. She hadn't done any research at all; everything she knew was told to her by Xiao Yi.
Hehe, Xiao Yi spoke up in her mind at that moment, I was too busy being shocked that he was a 3S-grade big shot, so I didn't read everything.
Jiang Lijin couldn't be bothered to respond to it. She looked up at Chiron again. "I received it."
Chiron nodded, his tone mild and carrying a hint of businesslike formality. "I am in charge of your reception. When are you free? Does tomorrow at 9 AM work for you?"
Jiang Lijin stayed silent for a second, not expecting Chiron to be the one receiving her. But this was fine; at least he was somewhat of an acquaintance.
"Is the testing complicated?"
Chiron looked at her, his tone softening a bit. "Don't worry, it's just a simple test. Your spiritual energy fluctuations are quite unique, so the Master Brain needs to carefully verify them."
Jiang Lijin didn't say anything.
Chiron added, "In all of recorded history, a case like yours has never appeared before. Therefore, both the Master Brain and the Empire are taking it quite seriously."
"Got it," she nodded. "Tomorrow it is, then."
Chiron gave an "Mhm." "I'll wait for you in the living room at 8:30 AM tomorrow."
Jiang Lijin nodded. "Okay, thank you."
Chiron looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome. Who knows, in a while, I might become one of your beast-husbands."
With that, he turned and left, his footsteps gradually fading away.
Jiang Lijin stood rooted to the spot in a daze for several seconds before she finally reacted. Was this guy joking? There was absolutely no expression on his face at all.
Host, Xiao Yi's voice rang out in her mind, carrying a subtle hint of excitement. What did he mean by that last sentence?
Jiang Lijin walked back to the bed and sat down. "I don't know. Maybe because I teased him last night, he wanted to tease me back."
Then why are you smiling?
"I'm smiling because he doesn't even have an expression on his face when he jokes." Jiang Lijin leaned back and lay down on the bed. "Is this how all 3S-grade big shots talk?"
Xiao Yi was silent for a second. Don't you think he's hinting at something?
Jiang Lijin rolled her eyes. "Hinting at what? Hinting that he wants to be my husband? Oh, please, at most he's just stating a fact. Besides, even if he wants to, I might not want to."
Didn't you say before that if it were Chiron, it would be pretty good?
"That's just picking the tallest among the dwarves." Jiang Lijin stared at the ceiling. "Compared to strangers, he's definitely better. But to say that I really want something to happen with him? Not really."
Alright then.
She rolled over on the bed. "I'm not going to think about it anymore. I can't refuse anyway. I have to go to the Academy of Sciences tomorrow, so let's just figure out what to eat today."
She pushed the door open and walked out, ready to forage in the kitchen, feeling her way down the corridor toward the living room. This house was truly huge, with twisting and turning hallways, and the walls were hung with paintings she couldn't understand. As Jiang Lijin walked, she thought to herself that cleaning a house like this would exhaust a housekeeper to death.
She walked for a long time, getting lost several times, before finally finding her way to the kitchen.
This kitchen was even bigger than she had imagined. Stovetop, oven, microwave, dishwasher—it had everything, and they were all sparkling clean, looking as if they were rarely used.
Jiang Lijin walked straight over and opened the refrigerator.
Then, she fell silent.
Frozen pizza, frozen sandwiches, frozen pasta, frozen dumplings... and a row of high-grade nutrient solutions neatly stacked on the second shelf, with words like "Exclusive for S-grade" and "Nutritionally Balanced" printed on the packaging.
Jiang Lijin rummaged through it, growing more desperate by the second. Although she knew that fresh ingredients were incredibly expensive in this world, she figured a 3S-grade big shot's home would at least have some stock.
But this fridge...
When she reached the very back, her fingers brushed against something round. Pushing aside the fast food and frozen items, she saw it was actually a cabbage! A fresh, vibrant green, living cabbage!
Jiang Lijin's eyes lit up, and she reached out to grab it.
Host, Xiao Yi's voice echoed in her mind, that cabbage is worth about 1,500 Star Coins in this world.
Hearing this, Jiang Lijin's hand froze in mid-air, then quickly retracted.
1,500 Star Coins? For a cabbage?
That was way too expensive. Jiang Lijin suddenly felt that the one million in compensation funds in her account probably wouldn't last very long.
"Guest?"
Xiao Bai's voice came from behind, giving her a jump. She looked back to see the round robot had glided over next to her at some point, its electronic eyes blinking at her.
Jiang Lijin tilted her head to look at it, and Xiao Bai tilted its head too, its tone still gentle. "Is the guest hungry?"
Jiang Lijin nodded. "A little."
"Then let Xiao Bai cook a bowl of noodles for you," Xiao Bai said. Its round body glided to the fridge, nudging Jiang Lijin aside, and extended a mechanical arm to pull out the cabbage, tearing off two leaves.
Seeing this, Jiang Lijin obediently walked over to the dining room, sat down at the table, and rested her chin on her hand to watch Xiao Bai busy itself in the open kitchen. The round robot shuffled back and forth in front of the stove, its movements surprisingly smooth—not at all like an experimental prototype.
Ten minutes later, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed in front of her. Clear broth and thin noodles, with two cabbage leaves resting on top. It actually looked pretty good, even if it lacked chopped green onions.
Jiang Lijin picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a mouthful of noodles, and stuffed them into her mouth. The taste wasn't bad. She buried her head and started eating, completely disregarding the fact that those two leaves were probably worth a few hundred Star Coins.
Once finished, she put her bowl and chopsticks into the dishwasher, thanked Xiao Bai, and went upstairs.
Behind her, Xiao Bai's electronic eyes had turned into two crescent moons.
What she didn't know was that, at this very moment, outside the door.
Chiron had just pushed open the door and walked down the steps. Just as he was heading toward the garage, he caught a glimpse of someone standing by the flowerbed not far away out of the corner of his eye.
It was a female wearing a light pink dress. She seemed to be the one he had seen yesterday. She stood there, looking as if it were a chance encounter, yet also as if she had been waiting for a long time.
Seeing Chiron come out, her eyes lit up, and she quickly hurried over to him. "Lord Chiron." Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying a slight pant from her short jog. She stopped in front of him, tilting her head up slightly, her almond eyes misty with moisture.
Chiron stopped in his tracks and looked at her. "Miss, is there something I can help you with?"
Felwin gently bit her lower lip. The action was done very naturally, as if it were subconscious. She lowered her eyes and then raised them again, looking hesitant to speak. "Lord Chiron, I just came to let you know something." Her voice grew even softer. "Sister Jiang Lijin... if she does anything wrong or offends you, please don't blame her."
Chiron looked at her, his brows already furrowing, but he didn't say a word.
Felwin felt a bit uneasy under his gaze, but she continued anyway, her eyes turning slightly red. "My sister... she is a good person, she just might not be very good with words. If she did anything wrong and made you angry, just tell me. I... I am willing to bear the blame for her."
As she spoke, tears were already swirling in her eyes. Anyone who saw her looking like this would probably feel their heart ache for her.
But Chiron was no ordinary man.
His frown deepened as he asked, "What is your name?"
Felwin froze for a moment, her expression stiffening for a split second before she quickly recovered. She said softly, "My name is Felwin, Lord Chiron. We met before, at the banquet—"
"Felwin?" Chiron repeated the name, as if confirming something.
He suddenly remembered Jiang Lijin asking him yesterday if he knew a Felwin... So it was her.
But yesterday, when Jiang Lijin asked about her, the disgust in her expression had been impossible to hide.
"Is Jiang Lijin really your sister?" Chiron asked.
Felwin opened her mouth, not knowing how to answer for a moment. Strictly speaking, she had no relationship with Jiang Lijin whatsoever. Calling her sister was just a casual term of address; she hadn't thought anyone would care.
She stammered, "She... is an older sister I know, we..."
Chiron didn't listen any further.
"If there's nothing else, I will be taking my leave," he said.
Felwin wanted to say something more, but meeting Chiron's gaze, she swallowed her words back down. His eyes were calm and cold, making her afraid to take even a single step forward.
Chiron turned and left, his footsteps gradually fading away.
Felwin remained standing in place. Her nails dug deeply into her palms.
